A method or system is configured for determining a seismic attenuation quality factor Q for intervals of subsurface formations by performing actions including receiving vertical seismic profile traces. The actions include filtering the vertical seismic profile traces with an inverse impulse response of a downhole receiver. The actions include transforming the vertical seismic profile data from the particle motion measured by the downhole receiver to the far-field particle motions represented by the source wavelet. The actions include determining a ratio of the spectral amplitudes of the direct arrival event of the transformed vertical seismic profile data and the source Klauder wavelet. A quality factor Q is generated representing an attenuation of the seismic signal between the source at ground level surface and the downhole receiver.

In seismic imaging, accurate velocity functions (velocity model) defining seismic velocity as a function of depth in the earth are required. The velocity model is obtained as a result of seismic surveying. Delayed travel times in near surface refraction seismic surveys, an effect known as shingling, can result from an anomalous condition, seismic velocity decreasing with depth. Inclusion of such delayed travel times in a tomographic process for seismic imaging would otherwise cause large errors in determination of a seismic velocity model for seismic imaging of subsurface features. At locations (source-receiver offset) in the survey where the shingling occurs, the velocity inversions are identified. The undesirable effects the delayed travel times caused by the velocity inversions are removed from the survey dataset.

The present embodiments describe a system and method for generating one or more predictive models to reduce the static interference present in seismic reflection studies. The system can include a user device and a server. The method proceeds with gathering historical data, generating synthetic data, generating a predictive model based on those data sets, and applying that model to a current set of a data to calculate a seismic reflection of a geological space.

A method for weathered layer correction of seismic data includes identifying arrival times in the seismic data corresponding to a weathered layer velocity gradient. A velocity model of the weathered layer is generated using the arrival times. The seismic data are time adjusted using the velocity model.

The instant invention is designed to provide an adaptive approach to removing short-period time/phase distortions within a downward-continuation process that is a key component of seismic migration algorithms. Using techniques analogous to residual statics corrections that are used in standard seismic processing, one inventive approach estimates and removes the effects of short wavelength velocity disruptions, thereby creating clearer seismic images of the subsurface of the earth. Additionally, the instant method will provide an updated velocity model that can be used to obtain further image improvement.

Geophysical prospecting may be achieved using borehole seismic data and processing velocity seismic profiles using downward continuation to simulate the seismic source being at the depth of the borehole receivers. Such methods may involve collecting seismic data for a subterranean formation with at least one borehole receiver; grouping the seismic data into a one common receiver gather corresponding to each borehole receiver; performing a downward continuation on at least one of the common receiver gathers to produce corresponding downward continued common receiver gathers; performing a normal moveout analysis on at least one of the downward continued common receiver gathers to produce corresponding semblance velocity spectra; and analyzing at least one of the semblance velocity spectra for a zone of interest in the subterranean formation.

A method for estimating surface waves generates incident, back-scattered, virtual back-scattered and super-virtual back-scattered traces. The stacked super-virtual back-scattered traces are an estimate of the surface waves.

Surface wave coda in seismic data recorded with a data acquisition system over an underground formation is estimated using time-reversal experiments. First time-reversal experiments use a first time-reversal mirror including a target source and one or more other sources to obtain estimates of surface waves traveling from other receivers to a target receiver. Second time-reversal experiments obtain a coda estimate for a surface wave traveling from the target source to the target receiver using a second time-reversal mirror including the target receiver and the other receivers.

A method includes receiving, via a processor, input data based upon received seismic data, migrating, via the processor, the input data via a pre-stack depth migration technique to generate migrated input data, encoding, via the processor, the input data via an encoding function as a migration attribute to generate encoded input data having a migration function that is non-monotonic versus an attribute related to the input data, migrating, via the processor, the encoded input data via the pre-stack depth migration technique to generate migrated encoded input data, and generating an estimated common image gather based upon the migrated input data and the migrated encoded input data. The method also includes generating a seismic image utilizing the estimated common image gather, wherein the seismic image represents hydrocarbons in a subsurface region of the Earth or subsurface drilling hazards.

A method of redatuming geophysical data, wherein there is provided multi-component geophysical data, and the method includes obtaining at least one focussing function and/or at least one Green's function from the multi-component geophysical data.